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3472. Discrimination, Managers, and Firm Performance: Evidence from “Aryanizations” in Nazi Germany
- Author:
- Killian Huber, Volker Lindenthal, and Fabian Waldinger
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Large‐scale increases in discrimination can lead to dismissals of highly qualified business leaders and managers. Discriminatory expulsions of individuals holding important positions in the economy have occurred repeatedly, both historically and in modern times. Recent political developments have renewed interest in the economic effects of this type of discrimination. For instance, the U.S. travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim‐majority countries has raised fears among large corporations that increasing discrimination will leave them unable to retain talent.
- Topic:
- History, Economy, Business, Discrimination, and Nazi Germany
- Political Geography:
- Germany and United States of America
3473. Why U.S. Immigration Barriers Matter for the Global Advancement of Science
- Author:
- Ruchi Agarwal and Patrick Gaule
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- While talent can be born anywhere, few places specialize in nurturing it. Accordingly, talented individuals have pursued opportunities abroad for centuries. For instance, Aristotle moved from Northern Greece to Athens to attend Plato’s Academy and then to Macedonia to tutor a young Alexander the Great. More recently, the United States has emerged as a hub for foreign talent, playing an outsized role in the global knowledge network of scientific activity in recent decades. However, the recent introduction of restrictive immigration policies in the United States may adversely impact scientific activity. While studies have examined the potential negative impact of restrictive U.S. immigration policies on U.S. competitiveness in science and innovation, there has been less focus on understanding how U.S. immigration barriers may in turn impact scientific activity globally. In this context, our work studies the impact of U.S. immigration barriers on global knowledge production and examines which policy actions are more likely to help advance the global knowledge frontier.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Immigration, Border Control, and Research and Development
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and United States of America
3474. The Smoot‐Hawley Trade War
- Author:
- Kris James Mitchener, Kirsten Wandschneider, and Kevin H. O'Rourke
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- In the words of Robert J. Samuelson, “The ghost of Smoot‐Hawley seems to haunt President Trump.” As fears of a trade war between the United States and China grew after the U.S. presidential election of 2016, many commentators drew this link between the signing of the Smoot‐Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 and recent trade disputes. And the consensus was that the trade wars of the 1930s were an ominous portent of what might await the world if Donald Trump’s protectionist impulses were not checked.
- Topic:
- Tariffs, Trade Wars, Economic Policy, and Imports
- Political Geography:
- China and United States of America
3475. In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA’s Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan
- Author:
- Monica Martinez-Bravo and Andreas Stegmann
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Trust in the medical sector and in medical products is a key determinant of the demand for health care. This is especially relevant for the use of vaccines. Because of herd immunity, it is difficult—if not impossible—to learn about the effectiveness of vaccines through one’s own experience. Hence, events that discredit the effectiveness of vaccines or the reputation of the medical sector can have dramatic consequences on immunization rates. A commonly discussed example of such dynamics was the publication of an article in the medical journal The Lancet in 1998 that linked autism to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Media reports have associated this publication with the emergence of the anti‐vaccine movement and with the recent rise in the number of unvaccinated children in several countries. The declines in vaccination rates have contributed to the reemergence of previously eradicated diseases in several countries.
- Topic:
- Public Health, Vaccine, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and South Asia
3476. The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Disposable Bag Regulation
- Author:
- Tatiana Homonoff, Lee-Sien Kao, Javiera Selman, and Christina Seybolt
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Many recent government and corporate policies aimed at reducing a variety of negative externalities include regulations that ban the provision of externality‐generating products. However, these policies often ban only a narrow subset of products associated with the underlying externality. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice banned bump stocks, which assist in rapid‐fire shooting, after a Las Vegas mass shooting rather than placing stricter regulations on all assault weapons. Similarly, Starbucks recently banned the distribution of plastic straws at its stores to reduce environmental waste, and New York City attempted to pass a restaurant ban on sugar‐sweetened beverages over 16 ounces to curb obesity.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, Regulation, and Corporations
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3477. The Economic Geography of Global Warming
- Author:
- José‐Luis Cruz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The world is getting warmer due to carbon emissions generated by the economic activity of humans. Global carbon emissions will affect temperatures everywhere over long periods of time and in geographically different ways. What will be the impact of carbon emissions, and the implied changes in temperatures, on the world economy and on the economies of particular regions? How will individuals react to these changes, and how are these reactions impacted by their ability to migrate, trade, or invest and develop alternative centers of economic activity? What are the best policies to combat global warming, and what are the implications of these policies for different regions across the world? We propose and quantify a novel model to address these questions.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Migration, Economic Policy, Innovation, Trade, and Carbon Emissions
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3478. Getting Schooled: The Role of Universities in Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs
- Author:
- Natee Amornsiripanitch, Paul A. Gompers, George Hu, and Kaushik Vasudevan
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Immigrants play a vital role in innovation activities and entrepreneurship. Given the substantial contribution of immigrants in these areas, a set of natural questions arise: What are the pathways that high‐skilled immigrants take to arrive in the United States, and how has the importance of these pathways changed over time? What are important institutions that serve as gatekeepers for high‐skilled immigrants, and do they affect the types of immigrant founders that come to the United States? Do certain parts of the United States benefit disproportionately from high‐skilled immigration, and if so, what are some factors that contribute to these benefits? The answers to these questions have important implications for designing immigration policy and regulation, which have become increasingly acrimonious topics in public discourse. They also have important implications for firms and universities that recruit talent from abroad and for the communities that hope to promote vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems.
- Topic:
- Entrepreneurship, Immigrants, Innovation, Higher Education, and Startup
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
3479. Bridging Papua New Guinea’s information divide
- Author:
- Shane McLeod
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- Access to reliable public information is critical for Papua New Guinea as it heads towards national elections in mid-2022. The country’s public broadcaster needs urgent support to keep radio transmitters on air and to reach ‘disconnected’ audiences who have no other means of receiving public information. Australia should support Papua New Guinea to upgrade the National Broadcasting Corporation’s radio transmission capacity ahead of the vote by funding transmitter upgrades in under-served towns and regions, and by trialling a national shortwave service broadcast from offshore to provide coverage to the entire country. While the National Broadcasting Corporation implements medium-term strategies to achieve nationwide coverage, it will need to restructure its operations based on a more efficient regional production model, and focus on making its broadcast transmission operations financially and technically sustainable.
- Topic:
- Elections, Media, Radio, and Public Information
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific and Papua New Guinea
3480. The missing anchor: Why the EU should join the CPTPP
- Author:
- Peter Draper and Naoise McDonagh
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a twenty-first century trade accord that aims to secure a level playing field and rules-based trade environment in the Indo-Pacific. Yet in the absence of the United States, it risks underachieving on this goal. The European Union (EU) is the only global actor with the trade preferences and requisite economic heft to provide a similar anchoring function for market-orientated trade as was envisioned for the United States in the CPTPP. An EU accession bid to the CPTPP would require overcoming major hurdles and reservations, not least in Brussels. The gains in surmounting them, however, would be considerable. Any EU accession process should avoid jeopardising the possibility of a return of the United States to the multilateral trade agreement. An equivalence regime for regulations where CPTPP members are not in alignment with EU standards could in principle open the possibility of the EU and the United States eventually co-habiting within the CPTPP, however remote or delayed the prospect. Australia should use its status as a founding CPTPP member to advocate for EU accession to the trade agreement. Engaging Europe on the future of the multilateral trade architecture in Asia presents a key area of potential convergence between Brussels and Canberra, following a setback in strategic ties caused by the Australian cancellation of a French-led submarine contract.
- Topic:
- European Union, Partnerships, Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Europe, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific